Afghans Celebrate The New Year Without Independency To Pak Border Reopen

Kabul (BNA) Aziz Khanzada like many other young Afghans has come back to his home in Kabul from Kandahar where he is a second year medicine student of Kandahar University for celebrating the New Year with his love.
This New Year is different for him and other Afghans; celebrating the New Year with closed Pakistani borders. “I’ve done shopping for myself, my family and for my fiancé,” said Khanzada. “I have not seen any big impact of the closed borders on the Market prices.” He has shopped from Markets which are no longer dependent to Pakistani borders. Afghanistan’s market maintained the stabled prices of goods; specially fuel and foods, which are primary needs of the country, said Spokesman of Afghan Ministry of Commerce and Industries Musafer Qoqandi. “We are freed from one way export and import.” Since February 20, two Pakistan’ borders—Chaman and Torkham—have remained closed. Although it has not had big impact on Markets, fruit and vegetable prices have witnessed change. Potato, for instance, price has jumped up to 200 Afghani from around 130 Afghani per 7 kilo. At the same time, the Market does not need only fruit and vegetable.
The Market is busy with mass residents who need clothes, shoes, and other supplies for celebrating the New Year in new dress and at this scene, price of goods have not changed. Even the high price of fruits and vegetable are temporary, says Qoqandi. Afghans have problem with the high prices of fruits and vegetable only for the next month. “We are going to have grapes and other domestic fruit.” said Sayed Mansoor, Shopkeeper in Kabul’s Fruit and vegetable market. However, Pakistan closed its two borders after the Pakistan’ army accused Afghanistan for not targeting extremist inside the country after a suicide bomber had attacked at a Sufi Shrine in the Southern Sindh province which killed at least 88 people. In response, Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar rejecting such accusations condemned the attack. “We must find and execute effective strategies to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries wherever they exist.” Atmar said in a statement.
Although Pakistan accompanies Afghans in the New Year with closed borders, the landlocked country has no more worry of using Karachi seaport to export and import. “In the last two years, our transits have been increased in different ways. We have divided our transits goods into different ports.” Back to Khanzada, the alternative open borders with central Asia and Iran have led him to have normal shopping from Markets that are supplied by the open borders. “People have the ordinary pre-the New Year days like previous years.” Said Khanzada. This New Year is the first ever year that Afghanistan is in state of independency from Pakistan’s borders. Mass residents of Kabul are prepared to celebrate the New Year. Noisy salesmen have good selling time.
Ezzatullah Mehrdad